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Ghibli Museum, Mitaka

“My Neighbour Totoro”, “Ponyo”, “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, these are a few of our favourite films from Studio Ghibli. When we made plans to visit Tokyo, there was no doubt that we had to put Ghibli Museum on our itinerary.

On the train to Mitaka, each doing their own thing

Exit at “Stairs C”

The shuttle to the museum

Ghibli Museum is in the suburb of Mitaka. It is very accessible by train from our hotel at Shinjuku. There is a shuttle bus available from Mitaka station to the museum for a small fee, but we decided to walk there.

Totoro signs to guide you along the way

There is even a Totoro at the bus stop sign!

I’m glad we walked, as we saw how whimsical the suburb of Mitaka was. We spotted the town crest!

The entrance of the museum

After walking for about 20 minutes (you might take a shorter time if there are no kids with you), we soon spotted the museum!

And who else better to man the ticket booth, then Totoro itself.

The Cat Bus, for the little ones. There should be one for adults.

Nic had fun opening all the windows and doors of this exhibit, and so did I. I like how kid friendly this was. There was even a little door at my ankles.

There is a no photography rule inside the museum, the 2 pictures above were taken discreetly.

The exterior

Tickets are made from film strips. Makes a great keepsake

I loved the museum. Some of the exhibits used motion, strobe lights, and graphics for a lasting impression. One, which had the robot from Castle in the Sky nearly moved me to tears. Another favourite of mine was a revolving display of Totoro playing skip rope with Mei, along with the other characters. I won’t reveal too much, in case you want to visit, so as to not spoil the experience for you! There is a theatre where you can catch unreleased short works, but we missed this opportunity.

Don’t leave Tokyo without visiting the Ghibli Museum. Definitely worth a return visit if I’m there again! A down to earth, simple, yet magical experience.